Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Abhinav Mukund has criticised Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) think tank for benching their ‘find of the last season’ Digvesh Rathi for Delhi Capitals (DC) clash at home. LSG opted for a pace-heavy attack and their spin-bowling options were Shahbaz Ahmed, Aiden Markram and Abdul Samad. Ayush Badoni can bowl too but he wasn't given the ball by skipper Rishabh Pant. Mukund feels that after releasing Ravi Bishnoi, LSG should’ve backed Rathi despite his lacklustre run in domestic cricket.
"Even today, I felt the balance of the team was pretty off, seven batters and four bowlers. And then you had to sacrifice your find of last season. I know he may not have followed that up with an excellent domestic season. He's not been amongst the wickets. He's not had a great domestic season but that doesn't mean - you've released Bishnoi which means you've had your faith in Digvesh Rathi and said 'okay, you are my number one spinner and you don't play him the first match," Mukund told ESPNCricinfo.
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2.1 overs of spin vs DC
Left-arm spinner Shahbaz bowled one over and went for 16 runs. Markram bowled one over and conceded 13 runs. Samad bowled just one delivery which was hit for a six. They failed to break the fifth-wicket partnership between Sameer Rizvi and Tristan Stubbs. DC went on to chase down 142 with six wickets in hand and 2.5 overs to spare.
Rathi’s fruitful debut IPL season
Meanwhile, 26-year-old Rathi claimed 14 wickets from 13 games in his IPL debut season. His bowling average was 30.64 and he conceded runs at 8.25 runs per over.
Mukund went on to say that LSG have no identity and compared them to Gujarat Titans (GT) who entered the IPL at the same time.
"I'm very unsure about LSG," former India batter Abhinav Mukund said on ESPNcricinfo's TimeOut. "They are a very young side in the IPL. So are Gujarat Titans [also formed in 2022], who are slowly building an identity towards who they are. They might have lost their first game [in 2026] but you know what Gujarat Titans will come up with on a certain day. They are top heavy. They rely on their bowlers. They rely on their experience in the middle in terms of their spinners. With Lucknow, you always feel like there is no identity within the team."
LSG will play their next match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 5.